Tangled Web
by BirdSpirit
Summary: [Elise x Zyra] People have always been wary of the denizens of the Shadow Isles. Now, the time to strike draws close. But will plans be shattered when Elise forms an unexpected bond with the Rise of the Thorns?
1. Curious Spider

**This is my first fanfic in six years. I honestly should probably start with one-shots, but some part of me refuses to allow that even though it would be more beneficial to my health. Getting pelted by rotten tomatoes from eager readers due to the lack of updates can be rather deadly. Forgive me; I may need some time to get into a good rhythm again.**

** I'd like to mention that I've expanded a bit on Elise's spider form and given her the ability to do a few things she cannot do on Summoner's Rift. Similar "expansions" will most likely happen to other champions as well as the situation arises, but I promise to stay within the realm of logic.**

**And no, chapters will not generally be this short. XD**

**Be warned, the rating might go up.**

* * *

**Curious Spider**

The halls were silent, lit only dimly by the mana fire that flickered upon the torches mounted on the walls. The pale rays of the full moon shone through the glass window, illuminating the stone floor. Crickets, if one listened closely, chirped a steady rhythm as they sang songs of the night. At this hour, even the most hard-working summoners had retired to their beds for a well-deserved rest.

_Click. Clack._

The sound of movement was so quiet it barely echoed. A figure appeared in the way of the moon's radiance, a shadow forming beneath it in protest. It continued down the hallway slowly, towards the grand entrance of the Institute. Upon reaching its destination, the figure paused at the foot of the stairs. The shadow it cast was already curious in the first place, having not simply the shape of a human, but also what appeared to be 2 pairs of legs protruding from the back. Now however, it began to morph. The figure shrunk in height as all eight limbs grew longer and more jointed. A crackling noise was heard as a black carapace encompassed the whole body. Four pairs of beady eyes stared out, reflecting the moon.

Elise continued down the stairs, quickening her pace. To the east, a large forest surrounded the base of the League and that is where she headed as she hit the bottom. At this point, she paused to listen again, but could only hear crickets. Sighing internally, Elise commanded her body to shrink. The world became larger around her, as her spider form dwindled down to only half the size of her glory on the fields. Satisfied, Elise crawled deeper among the trees, continuing her search. She summoned a few spiderlings, sending them off in different directions to cover more ground.

The Chain Warden had never been one for many words. Even when they had worked together, Elise was never able to make much conversation as Vilemaw tore apart her pitiful followers while she and Thresh stood idly by, the former waiting on the Spider God's venom and the latter to collect the damned souls. So it was now that Elise found herself following Thresh, curiosity getting the better of her and with the knowledge that she wouldn't receive much of a response if she had directly asked the soul collector why he had been venturing out into the forest every night. However, it was proving rather difficult. Elise did not think herself an amateur when it came to tracking, but she'd be damned if asked to track a _dead floating body_. She skittered over a root and proceeded to climb a tree, hoping to get a better vantage point and spot the signature green glow of the lantern. There! It was dim among the trees, but unmistakable, heading to the right. Elise swiftly descended, using a silken strand to aid her, before setting off again in Thresh's direction. She couldn't see the glow from here, but she was confident she could catch up to him. She came to a clearing, and hid herself in a bush before peering around. Nothing. If Elise currently had eye sockets, she'd be rolling her eyes. She crawled up another tree and perched on a branch, waiting.

Approximately ten minutes passed before Elise grudgingly admitted to herself that she had no idea which way Thresh had gone and he was obviously not going to appear in the clearing anytime soon. Her spiderlings had not seen him either. It was getting extremely late, and while Elise did not sleep as much as most people, she did not want to be exhausted in case she was summoned for a match the next day. She turned around and moved back towards the trunk, using it as a bridge to reach the ground. She landed among a group of vines and made her way towards the Institute.

That was when Elise felt something beneath her shift. The Spider Queen froze. Upon further inspection she realized the vines were moving. Upon even further inspection she found that they appeared to be sprouting thorns. Elise quickly turned back to her human form and backed away, hoping she had not been mistaken for a nighttime snack. While an encounter with a carnivorous plant was something she wouldn't have a problem with, Elise was definitely not in the mood for such a thing at the current moment. Nor would said plant's mistress appreciate her tearing through "her children" and creating a ruckus. Elise's shape shifting had alerted the plant to a sudden change in the weight on its vines, causing it to pause. She took the chance to leap to clear ground and hurried through the trees. Glancing back, Elise saw a pair of eerie orange eyes fixed on her before they faded into the darkness.

She did not look back again.


	2. A Ghost of Things Long Past

**As promised, here's a much longer chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

**A Ghost of Things Long Past**

Logically, the sun should be trying to burn her eyelids off. Elise came to realize it was late morning as she regained consciousness from a dreamless sleep. Opening her eyes, she found her view was blocked by a large form on her face, explaining the lack of light. Irritated, she swatted the spiderling off and sat up. It ran towards the nearest wall, chittering in amusement. The Spider Queen stretched and went about her morning routine. Her room had rather simple furnishings, with the standard closet, bed and desk. Oh, and the spiderlings, of course, when she summoned them. The only thing that seemed out of place was a dark wooden chest in the corner. There were few other personal possessions. Elise left the majority of them hidden in the Shadow Isles. It didn't matter. She never spent much time in her room anyways.

She had just finished up and was about to walk out the door when she was enveloped by a sudden glow, its coloring the signature blue of a summoning. Her forehead creased. She had wanted a bite (no pun intended) before entering the fields. Contrary to what other champions joked about, she did not eat the bugs that happened into her room. She stood up straight as she vanished, adopting the air of the regal Spider Queen.

Elise emerged on the blue fountain, and looked around nonchalantly. She took note of Thresh and the curiosity rose within her again. Perhaps she should ask him what he was up to. There was nothing to lose. That is, only if Thresh wasn't trying to keep his night activities secret. The Chain Warden barely looked at her, and moved towards the shop to buy wards. He began to head towards his lane with Varus.

_Good morning Elise._

Elise cocked her head. _Well, hello there summoner._ She purred. She felt him direct her towards the shop for a Hunter's Machete and a few health potions. So she would be jungling today. Elise left the fountain, followed by Zyra and Malphite as she headed into the jungle. She reached the river and stood guard, hearing the announcer declare, "Thirty seconds until minions spawn!"

_Today your opponents will be Garen, Lux, Nocturne, Blitzcrank, and Ashe. I would keep a close eye on the bottom lane. Blitzcrank's pulls and Ashe's slows can be deadly even if Varus makes one small mistake._

This person had clearly not used her on the fields before. Slightly irked, Elise replied, _What is your name summoner?_

There was a pause. _Eideard._

_ Summoner Eideard, I would prefer you not tell me what to do, as I am perfectly capable of making such decisions myself._

_ Yes but-_

_ Other than that, please do not disturb me unless I speak to you or Nocturne is attempting a gank. _Elise said, adopting a more soothing tone.

There was silence before the summoner stuttered for a moment. _Y-yes, of course. My apologies._

Elise smiled slightly and nodded to herself in approval. Then she spat a jet of venom towards the blue golem while Zyra and Malphite gave her a moment of distraction. Shifting forms, she took the surprised creature down quickly with the help of her spiderlings. Regardless of what she had said to Eideard, Elise would indeed keep an eye on Thresh's lane. The worst champion to feed in a game was the enemy ADC, and it would simply not do to allow Ashe to snowball. A few minutes passed without any particularly exciting action, and Elise had just begun taking down the second set of wolves when Eideard alerted her to Nocturne appearing in the river by the bottom lane. Turning around, she let her spiderlings finish the whimpering creatures and started to head downward. As she entered the tribush, she could hear the sounds of battle. There was a clink of chains and a loud CLANK. Thresh had hooked someone. Taking that as her queue, Elise shot out into the lane, pleased to find that Ashe was the one who had fallen to the Chain Warden's grasp. The Frost Archer stood no chance. Spiderlings tore eagerly at her body and Elise finished her off with a bite to the head. "First Blood!"

She felt an additional rush of adrenaline upon hearing the announcement and paused for half a second to smile internally. "Elise! Help Varus!" She heard Thresh's scratchy voice.

The giant spider whirled around from Ashe's mangled body to see Varus limping away from Nocturne and Blitzcrank. The Ionian was badly injured. He would not last long, especially leaving Nocturne's Dusk Trail behind him. "Here!"

Thresh threw his lantern at her and she quickly latched onto it. As he pulled Elise towards him, she used the momentum coupled with her powerful legs to launch herself at Nocturne, disrupting his chase. The Eternal Nightmare howled and turned on her, his eerily white eyes narrowing. A bladed arm came towards her abdomen, and she barely avoided it, causing the weapon to slice through one of her spiderlings instead. Hissing furiously, Elise attacked him again, but he dodged easily, cackling. She made to follow, but felt something enter her mind. Elise fought to keep her mental barriers up, but they were easily bypassed.

Memories of terror flooded through her_. _

_ A yelling woman, face hidden in the shadows, with a wooden stick raised to deliver a painful blow. _

_ Gasping for breath as smoke rose all around, the main entrance to the building blocked by burning pillars._

_ The bloodcurdling scream of a small girl, thrashing about until silenced by multiple swords and daggers. _

_ Climbing desperately up a mountain pass, shivering, feet bleeding, leaving a blood red trail in the snow._

_ The feeling of dread as a man climbed on top of her-_

Elise was shocked out of her nightmare when Nocturne suddenly pulled out of her mind. She gasped for breath and fell to the ground, beads of sweat trickling down her now human face. Nocturne's screeching sent her attention back to him. A sickle shaped blade protruded from his chest and he gave a mighty shudder before collapsing to the ground and fading away, revealing Thresh to be his killer. He stood in front of Elise, face twisted into a cruel smile as the floating green orb that had emerged was sucked purposefully into his lantern. Elise opened her mouth to speak, but realized Thresh was looking past her.

Blitzcrank was still chasing Varus. The Arrow of Retribution was underneath the allied tower at this point, but the robot seemed determined to make one last grab at him. Blitzcrank wasn't too far away, but in her current state, Elise was barely able to stand. _Eideard, flash me in front of him!_

There was a moment of dreadful pause before Elise found herself teleported in front of the Steam Golem just as its right hand rocketed out. The hard piece of metal collided with her body and yanked her forward, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Elise hit the ground face up, gasping like a fish. Blitzcrank abandoned his chase of Varus to focus on her, raising a large fist to smash her head in a killing blow. The Spider Queen could only look on helplessly, her body drained of energy. She closed her eyes.

There was a sound of tearing metal instead of excruciating pain. Realizing her skull had yet to flattened, Elise reopened her eyes. There was a gaping hole in Blitzcrank's chest, where are large red arrow had gone straight through. The circuits within sparked and with a high pitched whine, the robot collapsed. Still panting, Elise automatically looked at Varus, who stood hunched by the tower, the blue circles of a recall spell already swirling around him. "Thank you," he said simply, before disappearing in a flash of light.

"I fully expected Varus to die. You surprised me Elise." Thresh, too, was in the midst of a recall spell.

Elise tried to think of a response, but none came. While she always worked to protect her teammates and bring them to victory, she rarely, if at all, sacrificed her own life for someone else's. That was more of a Soraka thing. She dismissed her strange behavior as a result of Nocturne's invasion of her mind. Instead, she thought of something else. "What were you doing in the forest last night?"

"Me? Are you sure I was there last night?" The specter was gone before Elise could reply, leaving her staring suspiciously at the spot where he had been.

_Take me back to the fountain Eideard._

Thresh was already heading back towards his lane when Elise appeared. Shaking her head, she decided to abandon thoughts of him for now, as well as the remaining memories from Nocturne's nightmare. Elise's eyebrows furrowed as she watched her wounds rapidly stitch themselves up. The way he had called those memories up so easily was unnerving.

She took a deep breath and regained her focus. She felt rejuvenated and thirsty for more blood. Morphing back into a spider, Elise headed for the middle lane. _How is Zyra doing?_

_ She and Lux appear to be evenly matched, although they have been dueling for quite a bit now. I have been informed that there is a ward in the bush at the lower river, so if you go around to the top bushes, Lux won't notice you._

Elise was tempted to reprimand the summoner again for ordering her around, but she decided not to. _Very well._

The middle lane was relatively quiet as Elise approached. She could only hear the sounds of the minions battering each other with their toy swords and wands. She crouched low in the bush, placing her hands on the ground. Zyra had apparently backed off a bit to allow Lux to push. Oblivious to Elise's presence, the light mage and her wave of minions advanced forward, clearly hoping to get a few hits on the blue team's turret. "Whipvine!"

Zyra sent a group of roots hurtling towards Lux, followed by piercing thorns as the mage was rooted. Her plants sprouted from amidst the vines and turned their attention to the enemy champion. Elise emerged from the bush.

_Elise._

In panic, Lux threw a poorly aimed light binding at the plant woman, who nimbly dodged it. Elise launched a glob of webbing at the light mage, effectively pinning her to the ground. She saw the terror in Lux's eyes as she sauntered closer.

_Um. Elise._

Elise gave a seductive smirk and leaned down towards the younger girl. Any man would have appreciated the eyeful of her breasts they were receiving at the current moment. That is, if they weren't about to die. Elise spat venom into Lux's eyes for good measure, causing her to cry out in pain. She straightened, letting out a bone chilling laugh as Zyra finished off the Lady of Luminosity by thrusting a group of thorns straight through her heart.

_ELISE!_

Elise paused her chuckling to finally snap back at her summoner. _What could possibly be so important that you have to-_

"DEMACIAAAAA!"

That was as far as she got before her body was promptly cleaved in half by a giant sword.

* * *

Elise hung between life and death, watching the events around her in muted colors. With her present injuries, Zyra was forced to retreat, unable to take on the tank that was the Might of Demacia. Dying on Summoner's Rift was a curious thing. Suddenly one could see everything that was happening, whether one wanted to or not. The omnipresence had been interesting at first, but there was a form of torture in being unable to close your senses to your surroundings. Elise idly wondered if everyone who died outside the rift experienced the same thing, if only for a moment, before passing on to the afterlife. The Spider Queen revived on the platform on her back, facing the sky. She had to place a hand over her stomach and chest to make sure she had been put back together properly.

_So…..Garen was missing from top lane._

Elise's eyebrow twitched and she stalked back into the jungle, ignoring Eideard.

The game continued on with neither of the teams gaining a large advantage over the other. Varus and Thresh's outer turret was the first to fall, but Zyra retaliated by taking Lux's tower. Garen's tower had also seen better days and would require only a few more hits at most to bring it down. Having forced both Blitzcrank and Ashe to recall, Elise, Thresh and Varus were currently in the process of taking down the dragon. The beast gave one last roar before falling into the river with a loud splash, rivulets of blood pouring from its wounds. The group exited the pit to head towards the middle lane, Varus in the lead.

The last thing Elise saw was a giant crystal arrow slamming into the ADC, freezing him solid, before the world went utterly black. _DARKNESSS..._

By the time she could see again, Nocturne was already hacking away at Varus, Lux and Garen hot on his tail. In a brilliant show of light, the Demacian mage took him down and proceeded to root Thresh in place with her signature light binding. Elise tried to make her way towards the Chain Warden, but it was proving difficult with the thick sheen of ice under her feet, courtesy of Ashe. Nocturne howled with laughter and shot towards Thresh. Suddenly, vines sprung out of the river, rooting him in place. "Elise, run!"

Zyra emerged from the entrance to their jungle, continuing to batter at the enemy jungler with the force of nature. Elise turned back towards Thresh and realized he was quickly falling to the Demacian siblings, even without the help of the Eternal Nightmare. With no choice, she shot into the air with the help of some silk strands, over Zyra and then behind her. She quickly made towards the trail that lead back to the middle lane. It wasn't until she reached the bushes that she realized Zyra wasn't following her. Turning around, Elise saw that the plant woman was having trouble navigating on the icy surface of the river. Ashe must have fired her arrow from the fountain, giving it plenty of time to absorb the cold from the surrounding environment before exploding upon Varus and encasing a large area in ice. The enemy team lagged behind slightly, initially slowed by Zyra's plants, but they were catching up, undeterred by the frozen water. Elise quickly ventured back out in her human form, extending her hand towards her teammate. Zyra took it and allowed herself to be pulled from the last of the icy ground. Glancing back one last time, Elise saw Lux hurtling a ray of light towards Zyra. "Look out!"

She hauled Zyra to the right, causing the couple to tumble into the bushes. The projectile flew harmlessly past. The two women quickly got up and continued to run. Garen had taken the lead now and was a bit too close for comfort. In response, Elise hissed and shot a web into his face, stunning him momentarily and allowing the two to escape safely.

Zyra gave her a small smile as their summoners worked the recall spell under the safety of the tower. Elise returned it and saw that she was still holding Zyra's hand. Quickly, she let go. If the plant woman had noticed, she did not say anything.

"Your team has destroyed a turret!"

That took Malphite long enough.

* * *

The rest of the match went in their favor, with Thresh's death by the dragon pit being the last kill for the enemy team. With a few well timed engagements from Malphite, the blue team was able to quickly take down Lux and Ashe. The remaining enemy champions were unable to do much afterwards, getting repeatedly aced by a mix of spiderlings, plants, and arrows. Elise smirked as the Nexus exploded in a brilliant show of purple, signaling the surrender of the opposing team.

The ten champions were teleported back to the Institute, and Elise appeared alongside her teammates on the summoning platform. She stretched her spider legs. Finally, she could get something to eat. The champions on the other side of the room approached them, each murmuring a quiet "Good game" before departing. Elise counted only four on the purple team and realized Nocturne was absent. Of course. He was always locked back up in the League dungeons after a match. Thought of the Eternal Nightmare prompted Elise to remember the memories he had caused to surface. Suddenly, she had lost her appetite. Sighing quietly, she made to leave, not even bothering to give a parting nod to her fellow champions or the summoners. She didn't notice both Thresh and Zyra staring after her as she left, both for very different reasons.

Navigating through the giant labyrinth that was the League, Elise reached her quarters. She stepped into her bathroom, moving towards the sink to freshen up. She splashed water on her face and reached blindly for a small towel. Noticing herself in the mirror reflection, she couldn't help but stare into her own red eyes, lost in thought. A minute went by and the Spider Queen suddenly blinked. She did not want to be in her room right now.

The halls of the Institute were teeming with life. Like ants presented with a pile of sugar, the majority of the people, summoners and champions alike, were migrating towards the dining hall; not surprising given the fact that it was around noon. Elise walked in the opposite direction. "Aww, come on cupcake! It'll be fun!"

She passed by Vi and Caitlyn. The rambunctious young woman seemed to be trying to convince her partner to accept another one of her crazy ideas. Judging by the way the sheriff adamantly shook her head, it wasn't working. Tryndamere pushed past Elise, Ashe in tow. The barbarian had an angry look on his face, but when did he not? The Frost Archer's cowl was pulled down lower than usual, and she refused to look at anyone. Lovers' quarrel, Elise assumed.

Soon she found herself at the Institute main entrance and continued on in a bit of a trance, allowing her feet to guide her. She squinted as the sun momentarily blinded her. The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight. A gentle breeze floated past and Elise took a deep breath. A group of birds chirped wildly to her left and upon turning, she found herself at the edge of the forest. Shrugging, Elise entered, taking care to not trip on any stray roots, and headed for the small river she knew cut through the mass of trees. When she wasn't out gathering more worshippers for the glorified spider god, she spent most of her time in the forest. While holding little similarities to the Shadow Isles, it was an ideal area to spend an afternoon for anyone who wanted peace and quiet. Few other champions visited or lived here and none would ever bother her. Elise would occasionally spot Quinn and Nidalee in the distance. She rarely saw Zyra or Maokai. Upon reaching her destination, she sat down in the cool grass by the bank.

The water was pristine, sparkling under the bright sun. If Elise focused, she could just make out small fish hanging out on the riverbed. The creek crawled along slowly, matching the pace of the Spider Queen's thoughts. She raised a hand and waved it lazily, bringing to life three of her spiderlings to keep her company (or more like to keep her distracted). Two of them skittered among the trees, running back and forth excitedly. The third, the one that had spawned closest to its "mother", approached her curiously, sensing something amiss. She smiled and patted its head, taking care to avoid the eyes. "It's nothing, dear,"

The spiderling hopped about for a few moments, reassured, before joining its siblings. Elise watched them idly as they started building a web between two close trees. She had always wondered about her spiderlings. Outside of their form, they did not resemble arachnids at all. They never ate, due to being spawned of dark magic and therefore lacking true life. The majority of the time, they acted like overexcited guinea pigs. Not that she would know. She had never owned a guinea pig. There was a loud squeak of protest as a strand of webbing snapped. Yep, sounded like them too.

Elise lay back on the grass, hands behind her head, spider legs stretched flat. She was in the shade of the trees so she could freely stare directly above her without fear of repercussion from a certain intensely bright light. She tilted her head to the side. Her spiderlings had gone quiet. From the mind link established between them and Elise, the woman could tell that someone or something was approaching. She sat up slowly, twisting her body so that she could greet the mysterious visitor. Her spiderlings had disappeared in search of the intruder. Unexpectedly, the feeling of excitement flowed through their bond, causing Elise to cock an eyebrow. Zyra emerged from behind a tree, Elise's guinea pigs in disguise clinging closely to her.

Elise blinked in surprise. She sensed no evil intent from Zyra, but could not fathom why the Rise of the Thorns had sought her out. Perhaps she was just passing by? Quickly adopting her normal seductive visage, Elise gave Zyra a predatory smile. "Find something you like?"

The plant woman appeared to be slightly amused. She stopped in front of Elise and the spiderlings crawled back to their mistress, where they were mentally scolded for the invasion of privacy. Instead of replying directly to Elise's suggestive tone, she asked with a degree of shyness, "Are you…alright?"

The question caught Elise off guard, and her glamor slipped. "Of course I'm fine."

That came out more defensive than she had intended. Zyra sat down next to her, crossing her legs. "Varus told me about your…run-in with Noctrune early in the match. He…also said you saved his life."

Elise wasn't sure she liked the Ionian man gossiping about the mistakes she made on the fields. She almost missed the second sentence. "And he saved me in return. Do he and you talk often?"

Zyra gave a slight shrug. "Summoners tend to take me to the bottom lane…more often than the middle lane these days," she paused again, "I am more acquainted with the champions that spend their time there."

The spider woman narrowed her eyes. "Then tell Varus he need not speak without restraint regarding other people's business."

The Rise of the Thorns looked a bit taken aback by Elise's sudden hostility. "I…apologize. I was the one who asked him."

Oh. Elise turned away and at the water, still slightly miffed. She felt she should have been more angry at the person in front of her, but interestingly enough, she wasn't. Elise could sense Zyra looking at her, but the plant lady said nothing. An awkward silence passed between them, until the two women opened their mouths at the same time.

"I-"

Elise snapped her jaw shut, looking over to see that Zyra had done the same. She continued to stare until the plant mage tentatively moved to speak again. "I came here to thank you…for saving _me_ during the match."

She put an emphasis on the word "me", for some odd reason. Elise paused. "You're welcome," she murmured quietly, "I'm sorry my pets invaded your privacy earlier."

She wanted to continue with "and for snapping at you", but she forced her mouth to close. Zyra's amused look returned. "It is quite alright…I do not mind."

The awkward silence returned, and this time it was broken by the loud and sudden growling of Elise's stomach. She colored lightly and drew her legs to her chest, not looking at Zyra. The Spider Queen heard her chuckle.

"Have you not yet eaten? It is well past noon. Here."

Elise glanced up as a vine that had appeared overhead retreated back into the trees. She then looked down at the fruit, currently in Zyra's hands, that it had borne. They were oval shaped, with a light orange outer surface that faded to a pale white at the top and bottom. Zyra had two, presumably one for each of them, and she handed Elise hers. Elise took it cautiously, as if it would spontaneously grow teeth and bite her hand off, prompting Zyra to give her a wry look. "It is safe. I promise."

The skin did not look particularly thick, and Elise deemed it edible, biting into the fruit slowly. To her surprise it was soft as well as sweet, tasting like a cross between a peach and a mango. She decided she liked it. Elise was halfway through the treat before she became aware that Zyra was still looking at her. Did she not know it was rude to stare? The awkward silence had come back. Again. Looking for a distraction, Elise noticed her spiderlings. After being scolded, they had remained still by her side, observing Zyra with curiosity. At the mental nudge from Elise, they approached the plant woman slowly, heeding their mother's advice to be more respectful this time. Zyra immediately took notice and reached down to pick the first one up, a smile on her face. This prompted an instant skittering frenzy (you know, the good kind) in her spiderlings and abandoning all caution to the wind, the other two eagerly climbed up her sides and back. Elise rolled her eyes. One managed to find itself on top of Zyra's head, nestling in her hair and causing her to laugh. The laugh was different from the evil one Elise often heard on Summoner's Rift. This one was light, carefree. She decided she liked that too.

When Elise had finished the piece of fruit, Zyra wordlessly offered the other one to her. She took it without hesitation this time, murmuring a small "thank you". Her partner went back to entertaining the spiderlings, still giggling occasionally. Elise was the one observing her this time around, and as she looked on, she found it hard to see the woman dubbed the Rise of the _Thorns_.

They sat in a companionable silence.

* * *

**Right, so in my story, Elise can use Rappel to land where she damn well pleases. Ezreal doesn't need a map. She doesn't need a target. Hmph.**

**Tell me what you guys think! ^_^**

**~BirdSpirit**


	3. Storm

**Storm**

Elise was bored. And a slight bit annoyed. Actually, that was an understatement at this point. This was the third night Thresh had not come out of his room. She cursed herself for being an idiot and letting her impatience get the better of her that day on Summoner's Rift. Currently, she was hanging out on the ceiling of the hallway as a small (somewhat) spider, waiting for the Chain Warden's door to open. She wondered what he did in his room all day. Elise guessed making sure that each of the thousands of souls in his lantern got their day's worth of torture would take quite a bit of time. Going to the Shadow Isles wasn't completely out of the spectrum of possibility either, although Elise found that the teleportation spell to do so was quite troublesome. In her defense however, she was still technically alive and Thresh was undead. That made all the difference when attempting to travel to the dark islands.

The spiderling she had summoned milled about, running circles around her, clearly sharing its mother's bored sentiment. It stopped suddenly, as Elise detected movement around the far corner. Her pet scrambled down the wall to the floor. She was about to call it back when she realized what it was doing. The spiderling attached a line of webbing to one side of the wall, about half a foot from the floor, and proceeded to run to the opposite side to do the same, leaving the strand hanging tautly in midair. It then skittered back up to Elise, who was waiting in the shadows. She gave it a look (the best one a spider could give), but was ignored. She really ought to reprimand it for doing that, but the Spider Queen decided to let the immature antic slide to make up for the night of boredom. _Fine, but only if you promise to keep quiet._

A summoner rounded the corner, oblivious to what had just transpired. He rubbed his eyes as he went, and Elise tensed when he came within an inch of the strand. The next step made the victim trip, and he landed with a grunt, arms flailing. Elise snickered as he looked wildly around. The weight the summoner had placed on the web had caused it to snap in half, and due to the previous tension, the two remaining pieces now lay hidden in the darkness by the walls. If the summoner had looked closely, he might have seen them. But he didn't. Instead, he got up and continued walking, this time at a faster pace. He glanced back once, but did not appear to see anything of particular importance. Elise waited until the summoner was out of sight. Still chortling, she leapt from the ceiling, shifting forms in midair and landing on the ground with a small click. The Spider Queen slipped quietly back into her room.

* * *

She stood by the window, staring up at the sky. The sun was just a hair over the horizon. Elise frowned. There were dark clouds in the distance. She tossed the peach-mango around in her hands, debating whether to eat it now or save it for later. It felt awkward to call it a peach-mango. She would have to ask Zyra what the name of the fruit was the next time she saw her. The one she currently held in her hands was a parting gift when they had said their goodbyes two days prior. The plant woman now actively sought her out every time she visited the forest. Not that Elise was complaining. She found she rather liked the company. Before she could decide otherwise, she bit into the fruit, savoring its unique taste. Elise continued down the hall aimlessly, heading for the center of the Institute. On the way, she passed Thresh's door, but the woman did not alter her pace.

The Institute was built as a massive central dome with "wings" fanning out from the center. The dome contained the main entrance, as well as the judgment room, dining hall, and summoning areas. The wings mere mostly made up of sleeping quarters, with a few training areas here and there. While champions could freely choose where they wanted to live, they tended to organize themselves by faction. This was encouraged by the summoners, to avoid conflict and other sticky situations. Elise entered the dining hall, gnawing on Zyra's treat. This room was rather misnamed. While the inhabitants of the Institute did indeed take their meals here, it was more often used as a place to watch games or simply spend one's leisure. There were various large floating orbs in the air, each showing a different area of the map in an ongoing Summoner's Rift match. Elise leaned against a wall to watch.

As the jungler for the purple team, Hecarim was attempting a gank at the bottom lane, which consisted of Graves, Shen and the newest addition to the League, Lucian. Elise had heard the Demacian harbored a special hate for the champions of the Shadow Isles, but she had never spoken to him let alone seen him prior to his acceptance here. Graves's support had apparently either been killed or forced to recall, causing Shen and Lucian to push their lane hard until they were almost to the purple turret. Suddenly Graves tossed a smoke canister directly towards his enemies, blinding them momentarily as Hecarim came galloping out of the river bush. He rammed straight into Lucian and sliced his leg open, crippling the Purifier. Behind him, Shen was quickly dealt with, the ninja still too confused by Graves's sudden distraction to retaliate. There was a pause in the fighting as Hecarim stood still, one gigantic hoof on Lucian's chest. The man gave him a look a pure hatred. "Fight me head on next time Hecarim, instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward."

The Shadow of War laughed a low ominous sound. "Very well. You underestimate the growing power of the Shadow Isles."

A mighty slash of the halberd, and Lucian's head rolled off his body.

Elise observed the scene with interest. Perhaps it was just her recent nosiness in Thresh's business, but she wondered if Hecarim had anything to do with the Chains Warden's activities. Hecarim had the ability to travel wherever he wanted and at an unmatched pace. Bodies of water and mountains did not deter him. Since his entrance to the League, the summoners had placed tracking magic on the spectral horse. While they knew not of his actions, they were able to tell where he was at all times. If Thresh and Hecarim were indeed up to something, they would need a place to meet. It was just a guess, but that could be the reason behind Thresh's sudden visits to the forest. She could ask the elder summoners where Hecarim had been as of late, but she did not want to draw any unneeded attention to herself or the horseman. The woman remembered that she had seen Zyra the first night she had attempted to follow the Chain Warden. Yes, asking the Rise of the Thorns would be a more ideal decision. She turned away from the spectating orbs and stalked out.

It was a slight bit chilly, Elise noted, as she picked her way among the trees. The birds were silent. There was a storm coming. She headed for the clearing by the riverbank she and Zyra had recently been meeting at. Elise assumed that one of the plant woman's children alerted their mistress of her presence each time.

"What the hell? Oh my god! Ahh!"

The cry startled the Spider Queen and she curiously gravitated towards the sound. Screams continued to resonate as she approached. Directly in front of her, among a group of bushes, was a giant, writhing plant. Said plant currently had a young boy in the grasp of its vines, and it was dragging him across the ground towards it. His fingers tore up bits of dirt and grass as he struggled. The apprentice summoner, judging by the robes he wore, screamed again. "What purpose do you have summoner…that causes you to hurt my child?" A sinister voice came from above.

Zyra leapt down from her perch on a tree branch, using the vines that sprouted from her shoulders to slow her descent. Her prey twisted to look at her. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know! Please, let me down! I won't bother you anymore!"

Zyra said nothing. Elise couldn't see the expression on her face, as her back was turned towards her. The plant curled more vines around the boy, lifting him into the air and slowly towards its gaping maw. He continued to flail, crying out again and again. He finally spotted Elise and reached out towards her. "Help me! Please!"

Elise couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Zyra turned towards her, an eyebrow cocked. This prompted her to move closer. Given her naturally intimidating appearance, she was surprised the summoner had even made the effort to get her to assist him. Ah well, he was desperate at this point. Her sudden show of amusement had apparently terrified the poor boy even further and his screaming turned into crying. Still chuckling, she said, "Help you? Now why in Valoran's name would I do that?"

"P-please…" The rest of the statement was mixed with gurgling sounds as his face contorted in pure terror.

The plant moved once more and the screaming returned. Elise winced. That was beginning to hurt her ears. Without hesitation, she threw a strand of webbing directly at the boy's mouth, effectively silencing him. The two women were content to watch the unfortunate soul be devoured, but they had more company.

"What is going on here?"

A large spear partially sliced through the mass of vines holding the young summoner, and Zyra's plant dropped him, writhing in pain. He landed solidly on the ground, dazed and unmoving. Tears still streamed down his face. Zyra let out a sound of alarm and moved towards her pet.

Nidalee stood with a hand on her hip, having too been attracted by the loud noises. She grabbed the fallen boy by his robes, heaving him up. He stood there stupidly, clawing at the webbing around his mouth. It would come off. Eventually. Elise felt the urge to snicker again. Growling, the Bestial Huntress proceeded to shove him away from Elise and Zyra and back towards the Institute. "Leave!"

Once he was gone, she turned on the two culprits. "One, you know violence is forbidden outside the fields. Two, must you be so loud at this time of day? You've scared away all the prey within a mile!" Nidalee hissed.

Zyra glared up from tending her plant. She seemed content to do just that, so Elise answered with a wide grin. "It was fun while it lasted."

The huntress narrowed her eyes, growling one last time before turning tail and disappearing in the direction the boy had gone, morphing into a cougar in the process. Zyra was still fussing over the injured plant. Elise peeked over her head and found that the wound Nidalee's magical spear had created was oozing a mysterious white liquid. The Rise of the Thorns was attempting to stop the bleeding, wrapping a sort of furry leaf around the vines. However, she was finding it hard to secure them in place, due to the continuous movement. "Here."

Elise stepped around, grabbing hold of the vines. Quickly, she shot webbing at the makeshift bandages, securing them in place. Zyra murmured her thanks and stood up. The animated being in front of her continued to move about, and its mistress placed a hand on it, cooing. Eventually, it began to calm down, retracting its head back to the center of its body and rerooting its vines. Flowers that had been hidden previously extended back outwards and the plant stilled. Satisfied, Zyra turned around and picked up a fallen stem that had a group of flowers blooming from it. The open end dripped the same white liquid and the woman frowned. Elise guessed the boy earlier had cut the plant, wanting some of its flowers for an unknown purpose and agitating it in the process. She attempted to salvage a bit of the situation. "A shame that kid couldn't have served as lunch. He was a bit scrawny anyway. I bet Nidalee just wanted him for herself,"

Tilting her head, Zyra looked at her. "Perhaps…it is mating season?"

Elise chortled in amusement, placing a hand over her mouth. Zyra, having been serious, stared at her blankly before grinning as well, realizing what the Spider Queen was laughing at. "You are early today."

Elise straightened. "I had nothing to do."

Her partner nodded, turning around to go deeper into the forest, expecting Elise to follow her. The Rise of the Thorns hummed an aimless tune as she went. The trees thickened as they travelled, and vines covered much of the ground. The area looked like a jungle now, even more so with dark clouds racing to block the sky. Brambles ran amuck, and if not for the fact that they parted for Zyra, Elise would have had a rather hard time getting though. She remembered why she had come in the first place. "Zyra? I wanted to ask you. Did-"

The plant woman raised a hand to stop her. "Not here. Come."

She had apparently deemed their current speed too slow and reached up with the vines on her arms. Before Elise could say more, Zyra launched herself forward, swinging among the trees, quickly out of sight. The Spider Queen still had her mouth open and stared at the spot she had disappeared. Realizing she was falling behind, Elise made to move, but a red head popped back out from the trees above her. Zyra smirked. "Coming?"

There was a rush of dark magic in response, and Elise stood in her animal form, scampering ahead. Zyra took the lead again and the two raced among the brush. A light wind blew into the giant spider's face and she detected a sweet scent. She noted with pleasure that it was coming from Zyra. They reached a clearing and Elise halted, realizing she could no longer sense the plant lady's movements. "Up here!"

The Spider Queen glanced up and was greeted with an interesting sight. A huge ball of vines hung about two stories above her, supported by surrounding trees. There was a hole in the center at the bottom as well as the ceiling, where the sky was visible. Zyra waved at her from inside. Skittering up a tree trunk, Elise leaped onto the outer wall of vines and then crawled into the hole. She switched back into a human and glanced around. "Hmm, cozy."

Her host bent her head in agreement, smiling. The inside was dome shaped. A thick layer of soft moss served as flooring, and Elise was tempted to bury her fingers into it. A few thick branches crisscrossed to the side and above, possibly serving as places to sit or allowing Zyra to swing up and look out when she wanted to. Large, colorful flowers bloomed in various places, adding vibrance to the atmosphere. Approximately halfway up, there was what appeared to be clusters of hives on the walls behind an organic mesh. The mesh led up to the roof and was closed on all sides except the top. Upon further inspection, Elise found tiny bugs with wings crawling at the hive entrances.

She turned around to ask what they were for, but stopped. Zyra was sitting on the ground, and the sun had decided to peek out of the clouds at that very moment, pooling across the floor and illuminating the entire domicile. The Rise of the Thorns sighed happily, tilting her head back to soak up the sun. The radiance sparkled off her body and ran along her curves, highlighting the leaves that wrapped closely around her breasts and hips. The flower-like extensions on her shoulders spread in reaction, taking in as much of the light as they could. Combined with the blossoms in the background as well as the bright moss, the scene was beautiful. The orange eyes opened. Elise couldn't help but stare, mesmerized.

"-perhaps come visit at night?"

She snapped out of her trance. Zyra stared expectantly at her. The Spider Queen scrambled for a response. "Uh, sure."

The plant woman raised her eyebrows. "You did not hear what I said…did you?"

Elise looked away sheepishly, wordlessly giving her answer. This prompted a giggle from the person on the ground, who patted the space next to her. Elise slowly sat down, fulfilling her early desire to feel the organic carpeting. "I said," Zyra repeated, "those are firebees…I use them to illuminate my home at night…Perhaps you will come visit another time?" another pause, "To see?"

The woman next to her nodded amiably. "Of course."

Zyra looked pleased. The two watched as the the sun flickered behind the clouds again. After a minute, Elise opened her mouth, but rather hesitantly. "Why do you talk like that?"

The Rise of the Thorns blinked in confusion. Elise continued, "Whenever you say something, you always take a pause mid-sentence. Why is that?"

Zyra drew her knees up to her chest. She said nothing for a moment. Elise backtracked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," she said hurriedly, "You don't have to answer if-"

"No," Zyra interrupted, "It is fine."

She paused again as Elise fell silent. "The human language is…very strange to me. I am not accustomed to using…v-vocalizations?"

An encouraging nod from Elise. "…vocalizations to communicate. Back in Kumungu, many years ago, when my kind thrived, we had an underground root network. We used that…and pheromones to signal to each other. It seems to me much simpler than human speak…When I took this body, I also stole the memories…of the human I devoured."

Zyra stopped. Elise waited patiently for her to continue. "It took me longer than anything to find my voice. Talking is second nature to humans. There was nothing…in the memories that told me what to do. I lived alone for a long while, before… I came to the League. I saw the people in the Voodoo Lands often, but never approached them. It was not until one day…when I stepped on one of their traps that I learned to scream. I heard your language in person for the first time…from the people of the Gray Order. It seemed very complex, very fast. When…you want to express something, you must put it in words. You cannot simply emit your feelings to others. I find it…confusing. I apologize, that was a bad explanation. I am not good with words," she finished, ducking her head down.

Elise had an expression of concentration on her face, something Zyra had evidently interpreted as confusion. The Spider Queen shook her head. "No, I understand. It must have been extremely different for you."

Her companion nodded and smiled shyly at her. "That may have been the most I have ever said at once."

Elise returned the expression, but more openly, and the plant woman released her knees, lying down on the moss. After a moment, Elise did the same. Feeling mischievous, she said, "So that's why you sought me out? For someone to talk to? Maybe learn how to seduce men as well?"

Zyra opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it and turned to the side. Was that a blush on her face? The spider woman continued gleefully, "You know, I feel used."

This time, the Rise of the Thorns whirled around. "No! It's just-"

Elise was laughing, showing Zyra that she was simply jesting. However, she wanted to hear the rest of the sentence. "Just?" she prompted.

The person in front of her squirmed slightly, hair now covering half her face and obscuring the majority of the blush. A small mumble was heard. Elise had to lean closer. "Pardon?"

Silence. "…You smell nice…and you are not as intimidating as you seem."

The Spider Queen blinked and then chuckled. "Thanks. I can say the same for you."

Of all the things she had been expecting from the plant woman, that had definitely not been one of them. Still, the compliment was well appreciated. Zyra was still not looking at her. Deciding she had tortured the woman for long enough, Elise picked through her head for a different topic. She reminded herself of her main purpose here. "So about what I wanted to ask you earlier…"

Zyra finally glanced up, giving Elise her attention. "Have you seen Thresh in the forest lately?"

The plant woman nodded. "He has been around a few times…but I have not seen him the past few days."

"Did you see what he was doing before?"

"A little. I only began to follow him after I realized he was coming every night."

* * *

_Zyra was lounging among some branches in the tall trees. She stared up at the sky, marveling at the stars. In her original form, she was unable to appreciate such beautiful sights. It was not until she became human that she realized being able to see was such a gift. A gentle breeze tickled her nose, bringing with it the scent of clear water, pine, and…death? The Rise of the Thorns sat up. The Chain Warden was back. The little ones that guarded the edge of her territory told her so. She tracked him as he floated through the forest. Her children felt his chains drag along their vines, and they recoiled in response. Their mistress was perturbed._

_ Frowning, Zyra stood up and leapt down from her high perch. In midair, she extended her vines and swung through the trees, towards the Shadow Isles champion. Her companions whispered to her as she moved, singing warnings of death. Thresh's movements were only detectable now through gentle vibrations in the ground. He was at the clearing by the river. She alighted on a tree's nearby arm, apologizing as the appendage creaked. She quickly moved to a thicker branch. Zyra could see Thresh through the thicket of leaves. She waved her hands and they parted slightly, giving her a better view but still effectively concealing her presence._

_ The reaper stood, swinging his scythe idly. As Zyra watched, something began to warp in the air, pulsing and emitting a ghastly energy. Mordekaiser emerged, nodding to Thresh in greeting. "The same as last time?" the Chain Warden asked._

_ "Perhaps more," the suit of armor rumbled, stepping to the side._

_ Thresh made a seemingly unsatisfied sound and headed for the still open rift. He disappeared with a white flash. The Master of Metal moved to follow, but paused. He turned and looked directly at Zyra. The eavesdropper inhaled and quickly ducked, closing her eyes. She heard nothing. Cautiously, the plant woman glanced back up. Mordekaiser was gone, as was the portal._

_ Zyra relaxed. She sat back, wondering if she should wait around until Thresh returned. The sound of leaves rustling below alerted her once more. She tilted her head downward. A giant spider lay perched underneath her. The Rise of the Thorns immediately knew that was no regular spider, judging by its size and the bright red markings on its body. Her plants must have dismissed it previously, believing it to be no threat and therefore failing to notify their mistress. She held her breath, hoping Elise would leave soon. A face to face encounter with the Spider Queen would not bode well. _

_The spider did not move for a good ten minutes, then it abruptly turned and skittered down the trunk. Zyra felt it touch down on the vines. Her child, having sensed its mistress's discomfort, stirred in response and began to sprout thorns in defense. She immediately commanded it to stop, just as the spider began to shift. Elise stepped away, the moonlight illuminating her curves as she twisted her neck to look behind her. The red eyes locked on Zyra's orange ones for a moment before the Spider Queen hurried away._

* * *

"After you left, I planted a seedling in the clearing…It will let me know the next time Mordekaiser or Thresh open a portal," Zyra finished.

Elise nodded, lost in thought. So it was Mordekaiser, not Hecarim. "The portal probably took them to the Shadow Isles. I think it's time I pay a visit. And why didn't you say hi?" She teased.

The Rise of the Thorns put a hand over her other arm. "I wasn't sure what you were doing there…and you seemed kind of angry when you left."

Elise smirked. "If it makes you feel better, I don't eat plants."

This got a light laugh from Zyra. "So…why?"

"They don't taste good."

The plant woman shook her head, amused. "I mean, why were you there?"

The Spider Queen shrugged. "Nosing around in Thresh's business. You know, I think you would do very well in the espionage depart-"

She was interrupted by a loud rumble above, and both women automatically looked up towards the sound. Storm clouds rolled ominously in the sky, heavy with water. The sun was no longer visible. Elise's eyebrows furrowed. "I should probably go. It's going to rain soon."

She stood up and walked to the edge of the entrance. The woman was about to jump down when she heard her name. Turning, she found The Rise of the Thorns holding out a familiar fruit for her. Smiling, Elise took it gratefully. "See you later?"

Zyra nodded.

A puff of dark magic and a spider emerged, rapidly descending to the ground. She did not notice the disappointed look that followed when she left. Elise was halfway to the Institute when she realized she had forgotten to ask Zyra what the fruit was called. She managed to make it inside just before the stairs began to turn wet.

* * *

The tempest raged outside. Rain beat the roof and windows, battering and splashing loudly against the building. Thunder rumbled every so often, preceded by bright flashes of lightning. The dining hall was quiet in comparison. Perhaps this was only so because no one wanted to add to the already deafening noise. There were also relatively few people here at this hour. Elise sat in a corner at the end of one of the long tables, reading a dark leather-bound book. She was reviewing the spell required to take her to the Shadow Isles.

Magic was a tricky thing. In its simplest form, all one needed was a word or two and a small bit of mana. The greenest mage could use it. At its core, it was a form of energy, one that was not visible to the naked eye and defied the laws of physics. Such energy was variable and mages were taught according to what "type" their body was naturally attuned to. At the higher levels of use, magic became unstable. Here, the difference between a novice and a master became apparent. Masters had more willpower and more focus, something that would take years to accomplish. They understood the purpose of the magic they used, its limits, and its consequences. Willpower faltered when one began to doubt, and that was where Elise saw many fail. The majority of the time, a spell would simply sputter and die. In worse cases, it would backfire, and the results were not pretty.

Having seen her way through many failures and successes involving magic, especially dark magic, Elise considered herself no amateur, although she would not go so far as to call herself a master. In fact, she did not even believe the highest summoner at the league was a master. To know all the nooks and crannies of magic, to be able to control every form of it, that was a monumental achievement, and no one, even given one hundred lifespans, would have such an ability to do so. Some would perhaps come close, yes, but Elise had yet to witness it. She considered herself lucky, having been granted a longer existence on Runeterra than most people, and therefore given the time to pursue what she wanted. There were few exceptions that could be found to break the chains of mortality, and even then, those tended to not work out as well as one would think. One example Elise could think of was-

"Hello, _your majesty._"

Speak of the devil. The air shimmered in front of Elise, revealing a shapely woman with dark purple hair. Elise sighed and gave the person in front of her an annoyed look. "Good afternoon, Deceiver."

LeBlanc smirked. "How are you this fine day?"

"Perfect. Until you showed up."

The mage of illusions frowned, crossing her fingers and putting her head on them. "Aww, that's no way to treat an old friend."

Said friend slammed her book shut. "What do you want?"

LeBlanc looked slyly to the side. "Huh? Me?"

The Spider Queen continued to stare. Finally, the person opposite her sighed. "You are no fun. Then again, you never were."

"I'm hilarious when I want to be. Now out with it."

The Deceiver hesitated for a second, trying Elise's patience. "I want a favor."

She continued when given a raised eyebrow. "Thresh has a soul in his lantern who goes by the name Senna. I want you to ask her where the Shurima Heart is."

"What makes you think I can get Thresh to just casually pull a soul out?"

LeBlanc shrugged. "A little seduction goes a long way."

She laughed at the disgusted look on Elise's face. "That is completely out of question," the spider woman stated.

The cloaked woman leaned closer. "Please?" she dragged out the word.

Elise pretended to think for a moment. "No," and proceeded to stand up, grabbing her book.

She turned around, ready to leave, but heard LeBlanc's voice once more. "What if I told you this item I seek was used two hundred-fifty years ago during the Rune Wars in a fight between Noxus and Demacia?"

Elise paused, her face expressionless. "So?"

"Demacia used it to trap any Noxian soldiers they killed. Those souls are still alive today."

A Cheshire grin was slowly growing on LeBlanc's face. Elise did not speak for a good ten seconds. "Is there a way to free those souls?"

"There is."

The Spider Queen did a one-eighty and looked straight at the Deceiver. "We're not discussing this any further until you get your actual ass over here."

The clone let out a peel of laughter, which faded away along with it in a puff of smoke. Elise took the time to sit back down. She was not a person to dwell in the past, but this was just too tempting. Was it really possible? She refused to let herself hope, but even as the thought ran through Elise's head, she knew it was a lost cause. "Oh, good. You decided to take a seat."

LeBlanc, the real one this time, leaned against the short edge of the table, folding her arms. The Spider Queen just looked at her suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't lying?"

The standing mage put a finger on her chin. "Mm, you don't but you're willing to take that chance, aren't you?"

Elise was silent. LeBlanc stretched and then laid herself across the table in front of the other woman. Her feet dangled. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Elise closed her eyes. "Fine."

When she opened them, LeBlanc was still there, giving her the same blasted grin. "Oh, and don't try finding it and keeping it for yourself. You need a key to open it."

The Spider Queen noted with an absolute lack of guilt that she had, in fact, been thinking that.

Serious business now taken care of, the Deceiver morphed back to her normal playful self, giving Elise a sultry smile. She arched her back, practically shoving her breasts into the other woman's downturned face. The action (and the fact that she was on the table) drew a lot of attention. A group of young summoners a table over murmured among themselves, attempting not to stare but failing miserably. Caitlyn, who was looking through some papers with Vi across the room, frowned in disapproval. The Demacian table, which currently consisted of Vayne, Quinn, Fiora, Garen, and Jarvan, simply glared. Actually, Garen and Jarvan were probably staring. They would just never admit it.

Elise managed to take in all of this as LeBlanc wriggled her torso. She gave the woman on the table a deadpan look and snapped her fingers. A spiderling appeared on LeBlanc's stomach, immediately skittering towards her breasts, heading for the face. The mage yelped and bolted upright, swiping at the creature. The spiderling chittered angrily as it turned tail and went for her legs, trying to hide from the offending hands. Elise hid her laughter behind a hand as LeBlanc continuously released small blasts of magic, missing every time in her panic. Finally, the pet decided it had had enough and leapt to Elise's lap, crawling around and up her back, stopping to perch on her shoulder. It let out what sounded like a small "Hmph", but she couldn't be sure. Pretty much everyone in the dining hall was involved in some sort of amusement at this point as they watched the Deceiver, who could do nothing but stand and glare, red-faced. There were various scorch marks on the floor and the nearby walls.

The Spider Queen managed to take a breath. "So Evaine is afraid of spiders I see."

She went right back to snickering, but had to stop to dodge a flash of magic that was aimed directly at her face. "I am not! It just startled me," LeBlanc retorted, "and it's Emilia!"

With that, she gathered herself up and stormed out the room, hissing at the spiderling as she passed. It returned the favor eagerly and probably would have given chase if Elise hadn't pinned it down. It wriggled until its mother sent it away, evaporating it into thin air.

Elise got up, exiting the dining hall as well. There was no sign of LeBlanc, and the halls were practically empty. Planning to take a nap, the Spider Queen was strolling towards her room when she heard rather loud, angry voices. She peeked around the corner. A group of people stood outside the summoning room. Some men, dressed in mostly yellow and blue fabrics, stood arguing with who Elise recognized as two of the elder summoners. "Summoner Imrich, this is an extreme violation of Demacian border regulations! If this harassment continues, sooner or later, it is going to escalate into a full scale war!"

Imrich held his hand up. "There is no need to raise your voice. Now once again, the League will not get itself involved in this issue because there is no evidence that these so called bandits are Noxian, or of any city-state allied to the League. Furthermore, if they were Noxian, we still have no right to mediate because you say they are acting independently of the city state. The League also does not take care of petty borderline skirmishes that have happened merely twice. I'm afraid such a problem will have to be on a larger scale before we are allowed to take action. The only advice I can offer you is to reinforce your borders."

The Demacian man did not back down. "Summoner, are you saying that you want more men to die before you take action? I have already lost six of my guard to these criminals and I will not stand for losing more!"

"I implied no such thing. I merely stated…"

"Ooh, are they still arguing?"

LeBlanc, who was apparently still snooping around, manifested herself beside Elise, previous embarrassing episode forgotten. An eye twitched on the spider woman's face. One of the Demacian's hextech com was now ringing, and he excused himself to answer it. "What's going on?" The Spider Queen asked the Deceiver quietly.

LeBlanc shrugged, a not-so-innocent look on her face. Elise narrowed her eyes. "Tell me, or I'll drop another spider on your face."

The mage's eyes became uncertain, and she reluctantly opened her mouth. "A group of bandits keep pestering some Demacians at their eastern border. They're trying to claim the area for themselves or something like that."

Elise nodded and turned her attention back the people in front of her. Imrich's fellow summoner, an old woman by the name of Thalia, was now speaking. "I apologize, but by the rules of the League, we are not allowed to interfere. I wish we could help you, but-"

"Wait!"

The man who had been talking rapidly into his hextech com came back now, an excited look on his face. "They've captured two of the bandits! They're Noxian for sure and they said they were hired by the Shades!"

The Shades were a well-known group of Noxian black marketers, who would stop at nothing to get the illegal goods they wanted. Well-known as they were, it was next to impossible to catch them, as they tended to leave as much of a trace as Zed's shadow. A good number of their loyal patrons, including the politically involved ones, were very tight-lipped as well. Chances were, the Shades had hired the bandits to clear the Demacian area for them, having found something of interest there. Clearly, the plan had failed.

Imrich pinched his nose as the Demacians waited for a response. "Very well. Let us…discuss this in the judgment room. I would like the evidence sent through the astronetwork. Thalia, if you would please send for the representatives of Demacia and Noxus."

There were more people than just Elise and LeBlanc eavesdropping at this point, and Imrich quickly led the Demacians through a large doorway, closing it soundly and shutting out all possible spectators. Thalia shuffled off in the other direction.

The Deceiver was grinning. "Exciting. It's been a while since a Noxian-Demacian match. A pity the Shades got told on."

Her expression was the exact opposite of any form of remorse. Elise let out a small sigh. So much for a nap. Instead, she headed back towards the dining hall, where the orbs would be showing the champion selection phase, as was customary for organized matches between city states. She sat down at a table where she would be able to get a good view of the orbs. LeBlanc did the same, much to her dismay.

The monsoon outside continued. Torrents of rain hounded down upon the Institute mercilessly. Elise looked out, wondering if Zyra was alright. She shook her head and opened her book again, ignoring LeBlanc, who peeked over her shoulder. A few minutes passed before a voice resonated through her head. _Champions of the League, you are on standby for an official match that will occur between Noxus and Demacia in exactly half an hour. The selection process will be underway momentarily. If chosen, you will be teleported to the summoning room for briefing._

On cue, the spectator orbs began to shimmer, revealing two groups of five summoners, each on opposite sides of the platform. They were murmuring among themselves, waiting for the selection process to begin. The door to the dining hall opened, revealing Swain, followed by Jarvan. The Master Tactician spotted LeBlanc and made his way towards her. The Deceiver looked up. "General," she greeted.

He dipped his head in acknowledgement to both women. "Good day."

"What did you agree upon?" LeBlanc asked.

When a situation among city-states that required League intervention occurred, the representatives of those city-states were asked to discuss and concur to the conditions of the following match. "If victory goes to Noxus, then we may lay claim to their piece of territory," Swain answered, "If Demacia wins, then we are to pay a price of twenty thousand gold and withdraw from that territory."

"If the victory goes to us, you know it will not be the end of this for Demacia," the Deceiver said.

Something in Swain's eye glinted. "I most certainly hope so."

The two shared secret smirks. Elise switched her gaze between the two, but decided to not get involved. Various champions were beginning to filter into the room, all curious to witness the match and hoping for a chance to fight. The Spider Queen watched as Katarina and Cassiopeia entered, followed by Talon and then Draven. "Let the selection process begin!" a voice announced.

The summoners now stood in a straight line, facing each other. A Demacian woman stepped up. "I would like Lux, the Lady of Luminosity."

In the corner of Elise's eye, she saw Lux stand up as she was enveloped in a blue light. She re-appeared in view of the spectating orb, smiling brightly to her summoner.

Two Noxian men were next in line. "I choose Warwick, the Blood Hunter." one announced loudly.

A soft purple glow emitted from the center of dais, and moments later, the werewolf appeared. He snarled at the opposing side before taking his place in front of his summoner. He was followed by Darius. The Demacian team then picked Jarvan and Sona. An adolescent boy on the purple side moved forward. "Draven, the Glorious Executioner," he announced.

Elise heard a loud whoop. Draven was in the center of the room right below the spheres, grinning widely and already spinning his axes. When he appeared on the stage, he bowed, not once, not twice, but three times before sauntering off to the right. There was a collective sigh from everyone watching. The next Noxian in line chose Katarina. Elise heard LeBlanc scoff and couldn't help but smile. A complete opposite to the preceding champion, the Sinister Blade said nothing as she went to stand by her summoner. The Demacian team finished with Vayne and Garen. There was a slight lull as the Noxian summoners gathered in hushed tones to decide on a support. There was much headshaking and low arguing. "Fifteen seconds!"

Finally, a rather short girl stepped forward. Elise watched her intently.

"Our last champion will be Zyra, the Rise of the Thorns."

* * *

**Those little spiderlings. So entertaining.**

**~BirdSpirit**


	4. Return to Death's Door

**Return to Death's Door**

Elise blinked. She watched as the Rise of the Thorns appeared on the platform. Although there was a slight bit of surprise on her face, Zyra said nothing and walked to stand by her team. Katarina glared at her with distrust, while Draven immediately began flirting. The orb darkened as the summoners began to redirect the spell towards Summoner's Rift, and the champions were briefed.

Everyone in the dining hall began talking at once. Elise heard those around her begin to bet on who would win. "Noxus has good single target focus. If they take out Vayne and then go for Lux, there won't be much Demacia can do."

"Demacia has a good initiation from Jarvan and Sona. They'll win if they make use of that advantage and lock down Katarina and Draven."

"Draven is too cocky in lane, and Vayne and Sona make a good team. Zyra is an interesting pick eh?"

Zyra was indeed a surprising choice for Noxus. "She may have potential," Elise heard LeBlanc murmur to Swain, "but, she's an outlier when it comes to Noxian strategies."

"It may prove an advantage in this case, if our team adapts accordingly," Swain responded, "Demacia knows Noxus well, but they do not know what to expect from Zyra."

LeBlanc snorted. "What are the chances Katarina and Draven..."

The spectator orbs flickered back on as the briefing ended. Elise tuned the conversation out as the match began. Both teams had entered the jungle on their corresponding sides. Zyra crouched at the entrance by the wraiths. Her orange eyes peered into the fog of war, searching for signs of movement. The rest of the Noxian team moved through the middle lane and into the bushes that lead to the enemy's Ancient Golem camp. Another round of muttering went through the dining hall.

By the Demacian team's red buff, Sona placed a ward in the river bush, signaling to Vayne that there was no sign of the enemy team. On the other side, a few meters away from Darius, Lux stood in the grass just at the edge of the river, twirling her baton idly. Jarvan and Garen stood guard at the other jungle entrance.

There was a pause. Zyra crawled forward and waded into the water, alerting the light mage, who watched her intently. She approached the tall grass Lux was concealed in, and before she could put a ward down, she was interrupted by a light binding. The rest of the Noxian team immediately jumped out and Darius yanked the escaping Demacian back with his giant axe. Lux yelped in pain as a cruel knife was driven between her shoulder blades. Her summoner flashed her away, but a group of vines sprouted and held the mage in place. A spinning axe finished her off. "First Blood!"

"Lux!"

The Noxians turned towards Garen and Jarvan, who had been too far away to help their teammate. The Demacians were forced to retreat, but the purple team did not give chase. Instead, they melted back into the bushes. "Minions have spawned!"

Some cheers were heard around the room, mostly from the summoners allied with Noxus. Elise heard Quinn swear a few tables away. Both teams played cautiously for the next few minutes. Warwick, with the help of Katarina, attempted to take out Lux again, but they were deterred by her binding magic. Now, Jarvan made his way towards the bottom lane. He paused in the tribush, out of sight of Zyra's ward. Vayne suddenly tumbled forward, shooting a bolt at Draven. He ducked to dodge it and then threw an axe at the Night Hunter, clipping her thigh. Zyra's thorns erupted from the ground to wrap around her ankles, and eager plants lunged at their prey. Jarvan entered the river, planning to wrap around for an ambush. The Rise the Thorns immediately spotted him, and called to Draven, who was eagerly chasing after the retreating Vayne and Sona. "Stop! Jarvan is here!"

Draven continued onward. "Ha! Don't worry baby! I got this!"

As he took a turret hit, he threw one last axe, planning on ending the Night Hunter's life. Vayne ducked at the last second and Sona turned around to blast the power of her etwahl in the Glorious Executioner's face, stunning him momentarily. A silver bolt shot into his chest, piercing his heart. One more blast from the tower and he was gone, leaving Zyra to deal with all three Demacians. Elise gripped the edge of the table in anticipation.

The plant woman attempted to retreat, but could not get away from Sona's slowing magic and Jarvan's lance. Vayne shot forward, landing a bolt at the base of Zyra's skull. Her body fell limply into the bushes. "Blue team double kill!"

The champions quickly retreated back to their tower before Zyra's plant form could retaliate. There were several groans around Elise. LeBlanc sighed in disappointment, putting her head on her hand. Quinn whooped with delight. "Nice job Vayne!"

Katarina had just recalled back to the fountain when Draven and Zyra revived. "The hell happened down there?"

Draven shrugged. "Almost got a kill on Vayne."

The Sinister Blade rolled her eyes. "Don't let it happen again. Idiots," she scoffed, and stalked off towards her lane.

Draven turned to Zyra and put an arm around her shoulders as they walked. "Look honey, I don't know how to put this, but eh, you follow Draven ok? Next time keep locking 'em down with those plants of yours alright? Fear not, Draven will do the rest."

He gave her the classic Draven grin. Zyra just glared and shook his arm off. "I refuse to follow you into suicide."

"Aww baby. Don't worry, I'll make it worth your while."

The plant mage just hissed at him this time. The carry raised his hands defensively. "Hey it's all good. I like 'em feisty."

The Rise of the Thorns strode forward and ignored him for the rest of the laning period. Elise snuck a quick look at Swain. His face was grim.

Needless to say, Draven and Zyra lost their lane, and their tower was the first to go fall. By the time Katarina succeeded in demolishing Lux's tower a few minutes later, Vayne had gotten four additional kills. Draven had managed one lucky kill on Sona when she had failed to spot his axe during a skirmish, but that was it.

A spectator orb now focused on the Sinister Blade, who was wading through the river and towards the dragon. A purple sight ward told her that Vayne and Jarvan were in the process of killing the creature. Zyra was running to that area as well. Leaping out of the bush, Katarina shunpoed into the pit with a snarl and proceeded to fall into her Death Lotus, taking the two enemy champions by surprise. A multitude of daggers pierced Vayne's leather catsuit easily and she staggered off, blood running down her sides. With a yell, Jarvan leapt into the air and landed with a hard slam, creating a crater and effectively trapping Katarina in it. He thrust his lance straight through the assassin before she could react, effectively, but temporarily, ending her life. Zyra emerged from the jungle entrance and attempted to give chase to the Night Hunter. She shot the two vines from her arms towards the enemy carry. It was a sure kill, until Vayne dove to the ground, causing the creepers to shoot harmlessly over her by a mere inch. She was immediately flashed to safety by her summoner.

There was a grunt from Zyra as Jarvan slammed into her. The plant woman quickly crawled away on her hands and feet, summoning her children to aid her. Jarvan ran through the mass of thorns without hesitation; they failed to pierce his armor. However, he was deterred when the vines whipped around with a sudden force, throwing him into the air. Zyra got up and quickly ran into the bush. She looked as if she was on her way to safety, until a thin red line cut across the map and through the support.

"DEMACIA!"

The laser beam mercilessly fried the Rise of the Thorns.

Elise cringed and closed her eyes, refusing to look at Zyra's burnt body. "Vayne would be dead ten times over if I were in that match," LeBlanc muttered darkly next to her.

Taking advantage of the two deaths, Lux made quick work of the middle outer turret. Elise switched her attention to a different orb, where Katarina was yelling at Zyra on the fountain. "Would it have hurt you to aim a little lower? We just gave them two more free kills!"

Zyra scowled at the assassin. "Rooting her would have not killed her…You tried to face two champions alone."

They glared at each other, tensing. Both champions looked ready to test the limits of the magic that prevented friendly fire. The Sinister Blade fumed. Muttering profanities under her breath, she strode away to take care of the minions pushing her inner turret. The plant woman turned around to buy more wards.

The game progressed as the blue team continued to push all their lanes, taking the top turret in the process. Darius had done relatively well, managing to get two kills over Garen. However, that amounted to very little against a fully fed Vayne as the Demacian team began to push the middle lane together. The Noxians crouched by their inner turret, attempting to defend it. It would fall soon if they did not come up with a plan. As they cleared a wave, Warwick growled, "The next time they push, I'm going for Vayne. Zyra, root her down."

Everyone nodded, and they waited for the line of blue minions in anticipation. Lux cleared the purple wave quickly and the Demacians advanced forward. She threw a light binding at Draven, attempting to root him, but he jumped out of the way. Seeing the distraction, Warwick lunged into their team, Darius and Katarina at his heels. Zyra's creepers shot from the ground, heading straight for the Night Hunter. They missed as she simply sidestepped.

There was a collective groan from all the spectators rooting for the purple team. Elise bit her lip.

The Blood Hunter leapt forward, trying to reach the Demacian carry. He was interrupted when Jarvan knocked him into the air and slammed him back down. Vayne pulled her large crossbow out and tumbled backward, the magic of her cape stealthing her momentarily. She reappeared next to Katarina and shot a large bolt at her, throwing her into the wall.

Vines suddenly erupted under the Night Hunter's feet, writhing and grasping at anything they could find. Darius took a swing at her, but she ducked, tripping over the various flora that crawled across the ground. Sona came from behind, her dexterous fingers moving in a blur. Everyone on the purple team was blasted to the ground, including Katarina, who had just recovered from the shock of being flung against the rock. Zyra's plants snapped up, giving her team a brief moment to recover. Draven threw an ax towards Vayne, but was blocked by Garen. A shard of light flew to the ground and shattered around the Noxian, causing the Glorious Executioner to wobble for a moment. That was all Lux needed to get a laser in, turning him into a pile of dust.

While Sona kept Darius and Warwick away from her, Vayne made quick work of Katarina, who was too dazed to continue fighting after taking the last hit from the Maven of the Strings. Jarvan's lance whipped through the air, knocking the wolf and the Hand of Noxus off their feet. Vayne turned around and finished them off. "Blue team triple kill!"

The enemy champions now turned towards Zyra, who had been supporting her team from afar under the safety of the turret. Her eyes widened and she turned to run, abandoning the structure. Lux flung her baton in a wide arc, shooting a burst of light towards the Rise of the Thorns. Zyra glanced back just in time for it to pin her down. A silver bolt went through her stomach, and then another to her chest. Blood sprayed from the wounds and Zyra reflexively covered them with her hands, eyes wide. Vayne shot a final projectile right between her eyes.

"Blue team quadrakill! Ace!"

Cheers erupted from the other side of the room. LeBlanc turned to glare at them. Swain remained still, staring stoically forward. Elise put her head on the table.

Vayne turned to cock an eyebrow at Lux. The light mage, upon realizing why she was being stared at, put her hands on her hips. "Hey! I got the first kill!"

The Night Hunter shook her head and strode forward with the minion wave, blowing a strand of hair out of her face in annoyance. Lux giggled.

The Demacians finished the remaining turrets swiftly and turned their attention to the Nexus. It exploded on its own in a brilliant burst of purple.

* * *

Elise had left the dining hall to get away from the loud applause and yelling, preferring a more quiet environment. While she wasn't exactly allied with Noxus, she was closer to them than she was to Demacia. The arrogance that was currently being display by the blue team's supporters, who had done absolutely nothing to contribute to the victory, irked her. Hugging her spellbook to her chest, she decided to go find Zyra.

She heard yelling as she neared the summoning room. "Have you landed a single one of your shots this whole game? I have no idea why our summoners even picked you! You're useless!"

The Spider Queen peeked into the room. Katarina was glaring daggers at Zyra. Both women were standing practically nose to nose, but neither refused to back down. "You speak as if I was the only one who made mistakes."

Zyra's voice was quiet, but that only made it seem more threatening. "We could have won that last fight if you had done everything you were supposed to do," Katarina spat venomously.

"And you? You were out of position and contributed nothing either," Zyra said evenly.

The Sinister Blade growled, her emerald eyes boiling with anger. She straightened suddenly and moved to back off. Elise relaxed and was in the process of entering the room when Katarina suddenly whipped around and swung her blade at Zyra. The Rise of the Thorns instinctively put her right arm up to block the attack, crying out in pain when the dagger cut through her skin. The summoners in the vicinity immediately swarmed towards Katarina, attempting to stop her before she could attack again. Zyra backed up a few steps and then thrust her uninjured arm out. Her vines shot forward and whipped Katarina in the face. The Sinister Blade grunted and then went down among a mass of summoners. A group of them tried to grab Zyra as well, but Elise got to her first. The Spider Queen stepped in front of the plant woman, hissing. "Leave her alone."

There was a look of surprise on their faces. Some of them seemed to want to argue, but Katarina stole their attention once more as someone was kicked across the room. The rest of the Noxian team stood among the fray, trying to get the Sinister Blade to calm down. The Demacians were still standing on the blue platform, mouths agape at the scene before them. Elise turned around to ask Zyra if she was alright, only to find her gone and droplets of blood leading towards the door. She followed the trail into the corridor, spotting a shock of red hair turning the corner towards the main entrance of the Institute. "Zyra!"

Elise hurried after her, ignoring the stares she was receiving. She had to practically run and managed to reach Zyra just as she disappeared through the large doorway. "Zyra wait!"

The storm was still raging, and the plant woman had been immediately soaked when she stepped into the rain. Elise grabbed her left arm, pulling her back underneath the portico. Zyra jerked away, growling at the Spider Queen. There was anger in her orange eyes. Anger, and something else. She opened her mouth, presumably to yell at Elise, but was interrupted by a clap of thunder. The Rise of the Thorns flinched and was silent. She continued to glare at the woman in front of her. Diluted blood dripped off her fingers, and it was now that Elise got a good look at the cut Katarina had given Zyra. The wound was a vertical gash running from the elbow and almost down to her wrist. It appeared deep, but it was hard to tell due to the amount of blood seeping out. Elise had to raise her voice to be heard. "You have to get that treated! Don't go back out there! At least wait until the rain stops!"

Another round of thunder drowned everything out for a moment. She reached for the plant woman's hand again, but Zyra took a step back. She looked uncertain now. "Zyra, let me help you," Elise said in a softer tone, still holding her hand out.

A moment passed before the Rise of the Thorns hesitantly took it, allowing the other woman to pull her into the building. Elise gave her a small reassuring smile, but Zyra was staring at the ground. The sounds of the howling gale were muted as she forcefully shut the heavy door. The Spider Queen created a clump of cobwebs in her hands and used them to mop up the pinkish rain water on her companion's arm. The wound itself was still bleeding, but at least this prevented a mess on the floor. Elise then gently led Zyra towards one of the many wings. She saw Sona floating at the entrance of the hall leading to the summoning room and glanced at her suspiciously. The Maven of the Strings gave the two a sympathetic smile as they passed. She strummed her instrument, playing a few notes of soothing music. Magic tinted with a slight green color floated through the air and wrapped itself around Zyra's lower arm. The bleeding stopped. Elise blinked and then mouthed a "thank you" at Sona, who nodded in reply. Zyra either did not notice or chose to ignore her.

They entered the Northern wing. Behind her, Elise heard Lux's annoying voice. "Sona? What are you doing here? Come celebrate with us!"

"I'm taking you to the Ionian ward," Elise murmured to Zyra.

This made the Rise of the Thorns stop. She tried to draw her hand back, but Elise held onto it firmly. "I…don't want to go there."

The Spider Queen looked at her with confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"

Zyra turned away. "Poison," she murmured vaguely.

Elise's eyebrows furrowed, but the plant mage did not elaborate. She sighed, not wanting to provoke her. "Alright let's go to my room."

They headed towards a different wing. The two could hear Thresh's sinister laughter from inside his room as they passed. Elise shoved her door open and seated Zyra down on her bed. The plant woman gave a sound of protest, as she was still wet. Elise just shook her head, pushing her back down. The spellbook was set on the desk. She went to the bathroom, grabbing a towel as well as the first aid kit. Making sure the wound hadn't started bleeding again, she gave Zyra a quick once-over with the towel and then started rubbing her hair. Her companion was looking down at the ground again, unmoving. Elise threw the towel aside and pulled the first aid kit towards her, sitting on the bed to Zyra's right. "Let me see your arm."

She slowly set the appendage on her lap. Grabbing an alcohol swab, she carefully dabbed at the wound. Zyra hissed in pain, attempting to withdraw her arm. Elise kept a firm grip on it, but softly shushed her. "I'm sorry, but I have to clean it."

The gash was not as deep as she had initially thought. Because the cut was parallel to the muscle, none of the muscle fibers themselves were damaged. It would have been worse if Katarina had been standing closer to Zyra. Elise felt a twinge of anger towards the Sinister Blade.

There was still quite a bit of bleeding. Sona's magic had worn off by now and Elise had to use some gauze to soak up the blood. She irrigated the area and took out a sterile needle and thread. "You're going to need stitches for this okay?"

A small nod from Zyra. She tensed as her skin was pierced, but did not pull away this time. The whole process took a while, but Elise was finally able to close the wound with multiple, neat stitches. The Spider Queen silently thanked the fact that she had gained the dexterity needed for the task from her time spinning hundreds of webs. She finished by wrapping gauze around the arm and cleaned up, replacing everything in the bathroom. She took a seat on Zyra's left this time. The Rise of the Thorns was silent, with her eyes downcast once more. Elise sat, feeling awkward because she wasn't quite sure what to do next. Zyra spoke suddenly. "I-I'm sorry."

"For what?"

A pause. The other woman drew her knees up to her chest. "I…don't know."

Zyra looked more confused than anything else. The Spider Queen guessed she was having trouble processing all the emotions she was feeling and watched them flicker across her face. Frustration. Disappointment. Anger. Confusion. Frustration again. "Look," Elise said, "don't beat yourself up for that match. Unexpected events always happen. Katarina is a veteran of the League. She should know better than most champions here. She made quite a bit of mistakes herself. Not to mention she's generally a bitch when it comes to such things."

Zyra glanced up timidly. "Were you watching the whole time?"

Elise nodded, and her partner looked back down. The mysterious emotion from before was back. The spider woman cocked her head. Was that…loneliness? She felt the urge to touch Zyra, but refrained from doing so. Instead, she glanced around and spotted the peach-mango she had been given earlier that day on her desk. She grabbed it and moved to sit again on the bed. With one clawed finger, she sliced a bite-sized portion from the fruit. She offered it to Zyra, putting it close to her mouth. The Rise of the Thorns blinked and moved to grab it, but Elise retracted her hand, giving her a stern look. The piece of fruit was placed in front of Zyra again. Understanding flickered in her eyes and the plant woman opened her mouth, allowing herself to be fed. She chewed slowly, glancing at Elise, but looking away quickly. The Spider Queen handed her another portion of the peach-mango. She scooted closer to give her companion easier access. Zyra's lips closed around the tips of her fingers this time, and Elise had to suppress a shiver. They were soft, as soft as the silk webbing she used to occasionally weave makeshift nests for her spiderlings. This gave Elise an idea and she stored it away for later use.

They sat in silence as Zyra finished the snack. Elise found herself sitting very close to the Rise of the Thorns by the time the last piece was gone. The plant woman leaned against the backboard, her head facing the window in front of her. She appeared to be feeling slightly better, but still said nothing. Elise wasn't so sure her current mood was merely due to the events of the match anymore. The Rise of the Thorns eventually put her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. The Spider Queen watched her, idly listening to the pattering of rain against the glass. Neither person moved for a long while. That was, until Zyra's head fell to the side onto Elise's shoulder. The sudden motion caused both parties to jump. The plant woman's eyes shot opened and she stuttered an apology. "O-oh, sorry. I fell asleep."

She tried to move back into an upright position, but Elise shook her head. Before she could think about what she was doing, she had pulled Zyra closer to her, being careful to not jostle her arm. Zyra tensed, but then relaxed after a moment, allowing herself to use Elise's shoulder as a pillow. She looked up, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Thank you."

Elise shrugged her other shoulder, trying to remain nonchalant. "No big deal."

"No…I meant, thank you for taking care of me."

The plant woman gestured to her arm. The person she was leaning on gave her a small smile. "You're welcome."

Elise was pretty sure she was turning red as well. Zyra readjusted her head. Her eyelids were beginning to droop again. Soon, her breathing had turned into a deep, slow rhythm, indicating she had fallen asleep once more. Being careful to not wake her, Elise slowly pulled a blanket towards her. She placed it over Zyra, making sure she was warm. The Spider Queen took the time to stare at her. Zyra's face was peaceful, as opposed to the emotional turmoil she had been experiencing earlier. And that vulnerable expression of loneliness…

Elise thought back to what the Rise of the Thorns had said that morning. _I lived alone for a long while, before I came to the League._

Here was a person, a biologically mature adult, who had entered a world she knew nothing about, aside from flashes of memory. She had been born into a new body, one that experienced things she had never before felt. It would have been extremely difficult, having to learn even the basics of human life without anyone to teach her. And she had been brave and willing enough to do it, just to survive. The spider woman felt a sense of new respect for the plant mage. Even after Zyra's entrance to the league, she had rarely shown her face anywhere. But behind the thorny exterior, that stoic mask she kept on in all her matches, was someone who was lonely, someone who could only be resilient against the temptations of human interaction for so long.

Elise's expression softened and she carefully placed her head on top of Zyra's. The body snuggled closer to hers in response. The Spider Queen looked out the window. The storm was over.

* * *

Elise had a mass of papers and various things sprawled across her desk. There were vials of different colored powders that assisted in manipulating raw magic, as well as some dusty books in addition to the one that was currently being read. Some pens and a special feather quill lay to the side. The woman leaned back against her chair and stretched. It was rather late. Zyra had left earlier that day, after waking to find herself on Elise's lap. The woman had waited patiently while she slept, amusing herself by simply toying with the long locks of red hair. She remembered how smooth and delicate it was. In fact, it was probably comparable to one of Ahri's tails. Not that she would know, of course.

The Spider Queen shook her head and stood up, pushing her chair back in. She would clean up this mess later. She blew out the lamp she had been using for illumination, and was about to move towards her bed when she noticed an eerie green light peeking underneath her door. Thresh.

Elise waited for the Chain Warden to continue on, but the light persisted. After a moment, she realized Thresh would not have to walk past her room to go outside anyway, so there was no reason for him to be here. Unless…

She pressed her ear against the wood, but heard nothing. Elise decided to open the door and did so with a sudden motion, in case someone, or something, had been hoping to surprise her. In the middle of the corridor, was Thresh's lantern. The Chain Warden himself was nowhere to be seen. The spider woman approached the object carefully, alert for any traps surrounding it. Thresh had obviously left this here for her, but why?

Elise sighed. Only one way to find out. Bracing herself for anything unfortunate that might happen, she grabbed the lantern. She was immediately sucked through space and unable to breath for the duration of the journey, an unfortunate side effect when Thresh pulled someone he couldn't see. Suddenly, she choked as air reentered her lungs and looked around wildly. She was in the forest. Thresh, Hecarim and Evelynn were staring at her. "Took you long enough," Evelynn said, putting her hands on her hips.

Elise straightened and folded her arms, pretending she had not just been gasping like a fish out of water. "Sorry, did I miss the invitation to someone's birthday party?"

Thresh snorted. It was a strange sound and seemed to be accompanied by the screeching of tortured souls. "You don't need one, as you have proved the nights before."

The Spider Queen rolled her eyes. "Floating things that glow a bright green tend to catch my eye. I apologize," she said, not sounding sorry at all.

Hecarim pawed at the ground with a giant hoof. "Enough," he rumbled, "Why have I been called here?"

Thresh smiled. "Patience, Shadow of War. You will see soon."

Good. This might save Elise a separate trip to the Shadow Isles. How unfortunate she had done all that work to prepare the spell though. The centaur growled. "He's been going back and forth between here and the Isles lately," the spider woman provided.

It seemed as if the Chain Warden was glaring at her, although it was hard to tell because he didn't actually have eyes. "When was the last time you returned there, Spider Queen?"

Elise shrugged. "A few months ago. When we fed Vilemaw his annual snack."

She silently thanked the fact that her spider cult was functionally independent at this point. It had been such a pain previously to keep up her friendly visage when she had to spend every day with the fools. Thresh turned away from her. "Ah, then you have not seen it. We are waiting for the portal to open. Karthus and Yorick were impatient and went first."

Hecarim let out another sound of discontent. He trotted around the clearing and paused next to a tiny flower. It had one pink bud sticking out and was surrounded by thorns. Elise assumed it was the seedling Zyra had planted a few days ago.

Looking bored, the horseman stamped it down roughly. The Spider Queen stiffened as he wiped the white liquid stuck to his hoof on the grass. Evelynn noted the expression on her face and peered at her. "You know, I never noticed that you liked to imitate fish so much."

"Huh? Oh, um," Elise swallowed, "That's…one of Zyra's plants."

"So? It'll grow back. You care why?"

The other woman looked away. "I don't," she lied.

Evelynn just shrugged. The air was beginning to shimmer with the signs of an opening rift and she headed towards it. "Maybe we'll call you the Fish Queen from now on."

Elise did not respond because she was still distracted by the dead plant. There was a bright flash in front of her as space tore apart. She could glimpse the thick blanket of fog as well as the spectral trees in the portal that led to the place she called home. Thresh stepped through without a word, motioning for the others to follow. Hecarim went next with the Widowmaker at his heels. Elise took one last look at the plant before she too crossed into the rift.

She emerged in front of the Eastern Altar. The fog had magically parted for the Shadow Isle champions as they entered and Elise could see everything clearly. Leafless trees crawled around them, their crooked arms forming an angry barrier of wood and shrouding everything in the shadows. Eerie red eyes of rats peeked out at the visitors. They disappeared, only to reemerge in a different spot. The river flowed silently to the left, the water splashing as it was met with various rocks jutting out. But there was no water, and there wasn't really a river. Ghostly leaves floated slowly past, forever doomed in the endless cycle of circling throughout the dark islands. Karthus, Yorick and Mordekaiser stood around the platform, staring up at a white writhing mass that floated in the middle. The ruined king could be heard laughing distinctly.

Hecarim grunted angrily when he saw the Master of Metal and moved to stand as far away from him as possible. Elise eyed the sight in front of her with curiosity. "What's that?" Evelynn asked before she could.

Thresh stepped onto the altar and set his lantern down. A portion of the numerous souls that had been trapped inside were suddenly sucked out, joining the white hoard of what Elise now identified as the energy from spirits. "Thank you for your gifts, denizen," came the ominous voice of the king.

"A power source," the Chain Warden finally answered, "to set the curse of the Shadow Isles upon Valoran."

Elise stared at him in disbelief. "What."

It came out as a statement, not a question. Thresh ignored her. "The chains that bind the darkness to this place weaken as time goes on. They will break soon, and we will be free."

Mordekaiser stepped up now. "Once the Eastern Altar has accumulated enough energy, it will erupt, and the dark magic will spread across all of Runeterra. The power will be so great, that not even all the summoners of the League combined can stop it."

The Spider Queen narrowed her eyes. "So you're going to kill everyone."

Mordekaiser laughed, a hollow ringing sound that echoed within his armor. "Fear not Spider Queen, for you have already been touched by the gifts of the Isles. It will do no more to you. That said, you can still make offerings to your god. The people may be corrupted, but they will be far from dead. This curse will bind all spirits to our world. When the living pass away, they will be reborn undead."

Elise folded her arms, but said no more, as she could pinpoint no possible reason of why the suit of armor would be lying. She could really care less what the other inhabitants of the Shadow Isles did, as long as they did not interfere with her deal with Vilemaw. She felt a twinge of discomfort as she thought this, but quickly dismissed the feeling.

Evelynn was speaking. "Did anyone run this by the Western Altar, or are we just conveniently ignoring her? And how have you been hiding this," she gestured at the floating ball, "from the League?"

The Master of Metal chuckled again. "The queen is weak. She cannot do anything with the might of the entire Isles against her. As for the League, they are blind."

He and the Chain Warden stepped off the altar. It lit up, and the collection of spirits were gradually absorbed into the floor. The platform glowed for a second and then became dormant. Elise had been able to detect a strong magical signature in the air previously, but now, there was nothing. Impressive. The Deathsinger clacked his jaw. "There is no reason for you to present this to us unless you are in need of something. What is it that you want?" Karthus asked.

"Observant," Thresh wheezed, "We require your assistance in the last stages of this process. Your power will bring the source to its fullest potential. Then, we may proceed."

The lich bowed his head in acknowledgement. Hecarim snorted. "This better be worth it. I don't like my time being wasted."

Mordekaiser faced the horseman. "I assure you, Shadow of War, it will be better than your habit of running rampant throughout Valoran without reason."

His voice had a mocking tone. Hecarim growled angrily. He was about to retort, but was interrupted by Thresh. "We will send everyone a message when we need your help. For now," he grinned, "may the shadows guide you."

The spectral centaur and the Master of Metal were still glaring at each other, but neither moved. Elise rolled her eyes and turned away, uninterested in their squabbles. She walked over to the Chain Warden, who was preparing for a portal to return to the Institute alongside Karthus and Yorick. Evelynn was nowhere to be seen, although Elise found that unsurprising. "Thresh, may I have a word?"

The jailer glanced at her for a moment, and then nodded. The woman led him away so that everyone else was out of earshot. "Do you not think you have pestered me enough, Elise?"

The question was ignored. "In return for my compliance to this…arrangement, I have a favor to ask you."

Thresh had a look of displeasure on his face, but motioned Elise to go on. "There is a soul in your lantern who goes by the name of Senna. I wish to speak to her."

He was surprised. "Senna? What business do you have with her?"

"Let me talk to her if you wish to find out."

The Chain Warden was silent. "Very well," he said at last, "but it is not that simple. I am the only one who can interact with those in my lantern from the outside world. If you would like to speak with her, you must enter it and seek her out yourself."

He was given a suspicious glare. "I do not make the rules, my dear Elise."

"How do I know I won't be trapped in there?"

Thresh grunted. "If only it was that easy. I cannot ensnare a soul unless the body is dead or weakened."

Elise nodded reluctantly in acknowledgement. The Chain Warden continued, "Although I must add that the longer you spend in my lantern, the more likely you are to become trapped."

He smiled, the sinister green wisps around his head flickering in delight. The Spider Queen said nothing. "Well?" he asked.

"When can I do it?"

"Anytime you wish," Thresh answered, still grinning.

"Tomorrow night, then."

"Very well."

* * *

She picked her way through the dark woods, wondering if she needed to visit her lair to pick anything up. The Spider Queen finally decided not to. Vilemaw was generally nearby, and while she was thankful that he granted her eternal life, she found him rather narrow-minded and arrogant the majority of the time. Elise had decided to take a walk after speaking with the Chain Warden. Even though it was not likely, the prospect of having her soul put at his mercy for eternity did not sit well with her.

Her feet had carried her to the shores of the Shadow Isles, and she stared out to the ocean, but could see very little due to the clouds of steam that lurked everywhere. Not that there was much to see in the first place. There was a sudden snarl behind her. Elise turned to find a spectral wolf, baring its teeth. It's ghastly coat of fur was ragged and torn. It was extremely thin, as if it had not eaten for a very long time. It hadn't.

The Spider Queen watched it calmly, knowing that it would dare not approach her. She was a servant of their god, after all. She raised a hand, as if moving to attack it, and the wolf immediately backed away, its growls turning into whimpers. The spectral wolves had terrorized her crew the first time she had set foot here. They had chased the men down, snapping and snarling. No one except Elise had stuck around long enough to find out that there was, in fact, nothing to fear. The wolves were apparitions, ones that did not have a solid form. Their bodies simply went through everything they attempted to hunt down. They yearned for the flesh of the living, but were no longer able to feast upon it. Thus was their curse.

Elise decided that it was time to return to the League. She murmured a spell, watching as the air began to shift in front of her. The Shadow Isles were very peculiar. Getting away from the area was rather easy, but going to the place was much harder. That was probably why there was so much fog. To deter people from finding it. It seemed rather backward to Elise. However, death was very picky with its servants, as its secrets were not to be shared with just anyone. Those who ended up here were tainted with its dark power and they took it with them wherever they went, spreading the word of death. That is, if they were still alive to do so.

The portal finally opened and Elise could glimpse the much greener trees of the forest by the Institute. She leapt through, the rift closing upon itself with a small pop behind her.

She was back at the clearing where she had left. The woman inhaled deeply, enjoying the refreshing cold air. Her eyes were once again drawn to the flowering shoot Hecarim had killed. It lay partially buried beneath the disturbed soil.

There was the tiniest of rustles behind her. Elise stilled, but did not turn around, listening for more signs of an intruder. There were none. Cautiously, she looked behind her to peer among the bushes. It was probably just an animal. She was about to leave it at that when she caught a glimpse of two orange eyes. They quickly closed as they spotted her, but it was too late. "Zyra?"

There was a moment of silence. The plant woman jumped from the branch she had been perched on and stepped into the open. She looked wary, and held her bandaged arm slightly behind her. They stared at each other wordlessly. Zyra finally spoke. "You went to the Shadow Isles?"

Elise nodded. "Why?" the Rise of the Thorns asked her again.

"Thresh wanted to make some plans."

Well, that wasn't exactly a lie. Zyra did not question the matter further. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and glanced around uncomfortably. "Where are the others?"

Elise understood the reason for her watchfulness. "Gone. It's just me here now."

At this, the other woman relaxed. She moved around Elise and towards the dead plant. She knelt down, and the Spider Queen heard her whisper, "I'm sorry."

Using her hands, Zyra began to dig a hole next it. Elise approached her slowly. "Um, Hecarim stepped on it before I could do anything…I, uh…"

Her companion simply nodded. After a moment's hesitation, she knelt down to help Zyra bury the plant.

They stood up once finished. The spider woman clapped her hands together to get rid of the soil. She noticed Zyra staring at her, a perplexed look on her face. "What?"

"You reek."

The Spider Queen raised an eyebrow. It was not very characteristic of the plant woman to be so blunt. "Of death," Zyra finished.

Oh. Before she could say anything, the Rise of the Thorns had abruptly turned around and walked away, disappearing among the trees. Elise stared after her, unsure of whether to follow. Zyra came into view again. "Coming?"

The spider mage nodded, feeling very reminiscent of the previous morning. The plant woman once again lead the way and they headed for the general direction of her domicile. Zyra stopped by a bush. It had large, dark purple flowers and started to shift around when its mistress tapped its buds. Elise watched her curiously. After a moment of fiddling around, Zyra turned to her partner. She held something in her left hand. "Close your eyes."

"Wha-"

Before Elise could react, Zyra had thrown some light yellow powder over her. The Spider Queen accidentally inhaled some of it and sneezed. She heard giggling as she quickly brushed a hand over her face. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Zyra was slightly bent over in mirth. Elise wanted to glare at her, but realized she couldn't. Not because her eyes were watering, but because it was refreshing to see the woman smiling after she had been so sad earlier. Instead, she gave Zyra a mock angry look after rubbing her eyes. "What was that for?"

The Rise of the Thorns sniffed. "You smell better now."

Elise breathed in through her nose, careful to not unintentionally intake anymore large quantities of pollen. There was a distinct flowery scent. It was not unpleasant. She blinked when she felt a hand brush her head and looked at Zyra. "There's a lot stuck in your hair," the plant woman said, a grin still on her face.

"I wonder who's fault that is," Elise deadpanned, but she smiled to let Zyra know she was teasing.

The Spider Queen let her fuss over her until she was satisfied. Then, the Rise of the Thorns grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. They trekked through the various amounts of flora, most of which consisted of vines. Soon, Zyra's home was in view. The plant mage turned to Elise. "I wanted to show you the firebees, remember?"

She received a nod. Zyra let go of Elise's hand. She stretched her left arm out and allowed a vine to pull her up and into the circular entrance. Aware of her injury, Elise felt inclined to watch her until she was safely inside. "Come look!" she heard her call.

The spider woman transformed, entering the domicile the same way she had before. Zyra was lying on the moss, staring upward. She pointed overhead. Elise reverted to her normal self and looked above her. There were perhaps hundreds of firebees zipping back and forth. Some flew outside, their bodies bright against the dark contrast of the night, while others hovered about their nests. A few curious ones drifted downward, buzzing circles over Elise. They cast a soft, yellow-orange light on the vine walls. Upon looking down at her companion, the Spider Queen found that Zyra's eyes were also illuminated, and they seemed to be glowing. The Rise of the Thorns was waiting for a response. Elise took the time to lie down next to her before she uttered a word. "Beautiful."

Zyra hummed in agreement. Neither spoke for a long while. As the Spider Queen continued to view the mesmerizing scene in front of her, she began to feel her eyelids grow heavy. The bees continued to draw patterns in the air, slowly lulling her to sleep. Tired from the events of the long day, Elise allowed herself to succumb to the dream world.

She was fast asleep when Zyra quietly called her name.

* * *

**Warriors reference anyone? I loved that series as a child. XD**

**~BirdSpirit**


End file.
